Outside90’s Joshua Scarcella breaks down the biggest talking points to come out of Serie A matchday 22, including some of the big transfers of the week.
Milan è Rossonero
The Milan derby is one of the biggest clashes in football, played at the caldron that is the San Siro and dividing the fashion capital of the world into red and blue. The atmosphere and colour created makes it a must see fixture for any football fan and although both clubs are a shade of their former greatness, it rarely fails to disappoint.
Milan has only seen glory twice since April of 2011 in the Derby della Madonnnina, the most recent of these at the weekend where they took down what many believed was a much stronger Inter Milan outfit. As expected the match was not short of controversy with penalties given and not given, Roberto Mancinis’ sending-off and heroics from the 16-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma.
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The Pharaoh returns to Rome
Stephan El Shaarawy began his career with a bang at Milan, required to carry much of the club’s non-existent strike force on his young shoulders and doing so extremely successfully. After a number of cruel injuries, he found himself in Monaco this season and despite a promising start, his horror time continued.
Surprisingly, Milan have allowed the Italian to transfer his services to Roma and he has repaid the faith of the nation’s capital instantly, recording a fantastic goal in his first match against Frosinone. With the sale of Gervinho last week, il Farone could become an a vital player to the Giallorossi’s European hopes.
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Juventus on the verge of another record
After matchday three one could have been forgiven for doubting whether Juventus would challenge for a fifth successive Serie A title, only holding one point at this stage. After some player and formation experimentation from Massimiliano Allegri, this seems a distant memory as the club has gone on a 12 game winning streak that has shot them back up to second position on the table, after another impressive 4-0 win against Chievo.
They are just one win away from equaling both Antonio Conte and Allegri’s winning streak records of 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively, with the like of Paul Pogba, Paulo Dybala, Claudio Marchisio and Andrea Barzagli playing starting roles.
Napoli reliving the days of Maradona
The 2015-16 season has been a hugely successful one for Napoli to this point and is very reminiscent of their period of dominance when the one and only Diego Maradona wore sky blue.
Not only is a fellow Argentine atop the goal scoring charts, the team is also head of the Serie A table for the first time since that era. This can be coupled with a dominant Europa League group stage display and finally a current six game winning streak. It seems that Juventus are not the only club to be on the verge of that record, with Napoli one win away from equaling their longest winning streak ever, made in 1989.
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Sampdoria continue to confuse
I Blucerchiati would be firmly placed in the top five Serie A clubs, who from the outside looking in, are confused by which squad strategy they are choosing to employ. Walter Zenga was relived of his services in November and Vincenzo Montella was chosen his successor, who is well known for getting the maximum from the squad at his disposal.
After a spate of losses, Sampdoria have decided to loan two extremely important players to their survival in Serie A out to other Italian clubs. Eder, currently equal second in the Capocannoniere race, has taken the No.23 jersey at Inter Milan, while Ervin Zukanovic has swapped the blue and white for the maroon red of Roma. Although recruiting Fabio Quagliarella and Andrea Ranocchia on loan and Riccardo Alvarez via a free transfer, it is difficult to see how these players who have spent limited time on the pitch this season will have a similar affect to those who have left the club.
A legend says goodbye
After an eight-year spell in the Serie A, it was time for the fans in Bergamo to say goodbye to one of their favourite sons in German Denis. Also spending time at Napoli and Udinese, Denis had five seasons with the Nerazzuri, playing 153 matches and scoring 56 goals, including the equaliser to finish his Italian career against an in-form Sassuolo.
Although a versatile forward, Denis’ best position is in the centre, where he is able to hold up the ball for team mates, or turn and use his physical build along with plenty of skill to find the back of the net. This earned him the nickname ‘el Tanque ‘or ‘tank’ in spanish, an ability that has not eluded him even at the age of 34.
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